JRC: bio-based and biodegradable plastics are about 0.5% of global plastics production — capacity of 2.3 Mt set to reach about 4.7 Mt by 2030, production 1.5–2 times more costly
On 3 March 2026 the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) presented its policy brief “Bio-based plastics in a sustainable and circular bioeconomy”. It says bio-based and biodegradable plastics accounted in 2025 for about 0.5% of global plastics production, which exceeds 431 million tonnes a year, and that their uptake is held back by technological maturity, cost and sustainable feedstock sourcing.
- The JRC divides bio-based plastics into three groups by the production step at which biomass replaces fossil feedstock: attributed (certified) — biomass co-fed into existing processes; drop-in — chemically identical to fossil plastics and compatible with existing recycling; dedicated — produced directly from biomass, often with new properties such as biodegradability.
- Bio-based does not mean biodegradable: some fossil-based plastics biodegrade and some bio-based ones do not. Replacing fossil feedstock generally lowers greenhouse gas emissions over the life cycle, but trade-offs may occur in other impact categories such as land use and eutrophication. Today most bio-based plastics are made from sugars, starch and vegetable oils.
- Global production capacity of bio-based and biodegradable plastics is about 2.3 Mt and, based on announced expansions, is projected to reach about 4.7 Mt by 2030. The European rubber and bio-based plastics sector brings an average of EUR 3.2 billion added value and 57,000 jobs a year; production is generally 1.5–2 times more costly than fossil-based plastics.
- Possible measures listed by the JRC include mandatory shares of bio-based plastics in fossil-based products, bio-based and recycled content targets, bans or restrictions on fossil-based plastics in certain sectors and consumer labelling. As knowledge gaps it names better data on environmental impacts and on market and value chain dynamics.
Source: JRC — Bio-based plastics: technology readiness and high cost key barriers to wide use (3.03.2026)